Raul Albiol: 'Manchester City currently best team in Europe'

Napoli defender Raul Albiol has claimed that his side will have to overcome the "best team in Europe" when they face Manchester City in the Champions League.

The current pacesetters in the Italian and English top flights face off at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday night in one of the standout group-stage fixtures.

City maintained their incredible run of form by brushing aside Stoke City 7-2 on Saturday afternoon, making it a record 29 Premier League goals scored after eight games.

Napoli have themselves looked impressive this term, winning all eight of their Serie A matches, but Albiol believes that Pep Guardiola's men have the advantage heading into the midweek tussle.

"There's a long way to go yet, we must stay calm and focus on recovering our energy to face the best team in Europe right now, Manchester City," Albiol told Mediaset Premium.

"I hope it'll be a great game. Naturally, as a defender, I can't hope for it to end 4-3, but everyone is waiting for these two teams who attack and score a lot of goals.

"We hope for a great performance and will be concentrated in Manchester. We're in good shape too, I think the team has improved its mentality from previous years and doesn't make the same mistakes. Because of that, we are getting more consistent results."

Lorenzo Insigne scored the only goal of the game to earn Napoli a 1-0 win over Roma at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday night.